1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing line replacement devices, and, more particularly, to such devices used by fly-fishermen while fishing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fly-fishermen often use different fishing lines that they exchange while fishing. Current methods for changing fishing lines require the fishing line to be rewound onto the spool in the reel and then the spool is replaced with a spool of new fishing line. The new fishing line must then be manually threaded through the eyelets located on the fly rod. In many instances, all of these acts are carried out while standing in the river or while floating in the middle of a lake.
What is needed is a lightweight, portable apparatus and method that allows a fly-fishermen fishermen to easily and quickly change the fishing line.
All that the fly-fisherman would need to do is attach the pull line to his current fly line with the quick connector, reel the current fly line with the attached pull line to the spool, disconnect the quick connector and put a new line onto the reel, attach the end of the new line to the quick connector, which is still connected to the pull line, and finally, rewind the pull line on its spool and then disconnect the end of the new fly line from the quick connector.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight, portable apparatus and method that allows a fly-fisherman to easily change his or her fly lines while wading or floating in water.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus and method that does not require the fisherman to manually thread the new fly line through the individual eyelets.
These and other objects of the present invention are met by a fly line exchange apparatus that includes a temporary reel that contains a spool with a relatively short pull line capable of temporarily attaching to the end of the existing fly line. During use, the reel is temporarily attached to the fishing rod and the distal end of the pull line is connected via a quick connector to the end of the existing fly line extending from the end of the fishing rod. When the main fly reel is rotated to wind the existing fly line thereon, both the fly line and pull line are pulled backward together through the eyelets on the fishing rod. When the distal end of the pull line is pulled through the eyelet closest to the main fly reel, the end of the existing fly line is detached from the quick connector. The spool in the fly reel is then replaced with the desired new spool of fly line. The end of the new fly line is then attached to the quick connector on the pull line. The temporary reel is then rotated to rewind the pull line, and to pull the new fly line back through the eyelets. When the end of the new fly line has been pulled through the last guide or eyelet, the quick connector is then detached from the end of the new fly line and the temporary reel can be removed from the pole. The quick connector is designed to easily allow the user to connect the fly lines to the pull line.